


Astrid (Hvitserk Ragnarsson)

by Fanfic_For_Readers



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-02-17
Updated: 2021-03-02
Packaged: 2021-03-12 23:55:39
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 4,869
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29517717
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Fanfic_For_Readers/pseuds/Fanfic_For_Readers
Summary: Hvitserk finds an English Nun and brings her back to Kattegat, over her time working for the sons of Ragnar they get closer…~~~~~~~This story doesn’t follow the plot of Vikings and the characters may not all be accurate/real to/in the Vikings universe. The main character can be read both as an OC and a reader (it’s up to you!) - I have used a name for the character but its not her official name only the one that she’s given by the Vikings, but that's explained in the story.
Relationships: Hvitserk (Vikings)/Original Female Character(s), Hvitserk (Vikings)/Reader
Kudos: 6





	1. Stolen...

**Author's Note:**

> Thank you for reading... I hope you enjoy! :)

When you’ve been stolen from your country, the only place that you knew to call home, things change…not only the place you would call home, the people, the weather, the religions but also yourself. I was originally from a monastery in Northumbria, at a young age my family gave me to the monastery as they wanted at least one of their children to become a child of God. As a nun there were strict rules as to what we could and couldn’t do; though I was quite a rebellious teen and often went against the elder’s rules, when I swore chastity I became quieter much to the elder’s joy, and though I still occasionally enjoyed breaking certain rules I was usually a well behaved women with good morals. The day I had been taken was one of those days I decided to go outside and relax instead of doing what I should’ve been doing - packing for a trip… something I detested - I was sitting on the grass looking out into the distance when I spotted boats coming to shore, the very boats who everyone spoke about. They were mesmerising, the craftsmanship on said boats was like none I had ever seen and instead of warning my sisters, I decided to get closer. Hiding behind a large rock I watched the men and women get off them dragging stuff off the boats to build a camp with, there were some that didn’t do anything which I could only recognise as the leaders, a King and his Princes. These were pagan people, recognising their clothes and hair as those who have raided England before, but for some reason, I had no fear of them when I really should’ve been running for the hill and warning everyone I stayed and watched them put up their tents and sort out the barriers surrounding the camp… the thrill of maybe being caught by one of them kept me planted in my spot until the moon appeared in the sky and I knew I needed to get back before curfew. When I had returned to the monastery, Sister Mildritha was waiting by the doors,

“Where have you been, Sister Y/N?” her voice was shrill and anger seeped through and laced themselves around her words, I couldn’t tell her the truth I would surely be punished so instead I said,

“I went for a walk and ended up getting lost, then I found my way to the beach and found there were pagans. I came here as fast as I could to warn you!” the mention of the pagans causes her to panic, it was evident in her eyes, but her body was as relaxed as always,

“Come in now child, we need to get everyone into the basement now!” her voice resonated through the halls, calling for everyone to gather in the chapel. The large group of women all in their nightgowns were fast to appear, Sister Mildritha was quick to explain the situation and told them to get down into the basement now.

The basement itself was rather cold and with hardly any light - in fear that flames from a candle would notify the pagans of our presence, were they to come here - though it did have beds and enough food for us all to survive for a week had been down there for two days when we heard it, a massive bang came from the front doors all the sisters stayed silent many holding their breath. Though that didn’t last long when a bright light shone down into the basement and revealed that we were all there, the pagans laughed probably overjoyed to see so many women in one place, they came down to us and started to pull us around and out of the basement. They pushed us down onto our knees and took a look at us, they must’ve decided the elders were too old and cut into them with their blades - while the rest of the sister screamed and cowered I watched on in awe of the swiftness of their deaths, which seemed to have caught the eye of one of the pagans. He was one of the Princes I had noticed earlier, he walked with pride and knew he was virtually untouchable, the idea that he was coming towards me was frightful but I managed to keep a blank face as he knelt down in front of me. A hand came towards my face as I stared into his eyes, much to my surprise his grip wasn’t harsh as he moved my face to the side, like he was checking that I was undamaged goods before buying me, which I feared was actually the case.

The man let go of my face, grabbing onto my arm instead, and pulled me to my feet,

“This one is not to be harmed, do you understand?” he states in his mother tongue, the language of the Danes was not unusual on my ears but it did take a moment to understand its meaning, the pagan around him nodded in submission,

“Good.” he pulled me over to the side and gave me a look as if to say ‘move and you’ll regret it’.


	2. Change...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading... I hope you enjoy! :)

After they had successfully figured out who they were going to keep out of the sisters and taken all the things they deemed as treasure, they decided it was time to leave. Getting back to where they had their camp wasn’t a difficult task usually but they had tied our hands with ropes and tied the ropes together so we all stumbled along the terrain with difficulty. At one point the pagan that had been holding the rope decided it would be funny to pull the rope with such a force that we were all fell to the floor, the people surrounding us all started to laugh hard but stopped when the man from earlier came into sight,

“What did I tell you earlier?!” he shouted with power, the pagans went still some even flinching,

“Not to harm her, Prince Hvitserk.” one of the pagans stated, they seemed so small at that moment it nearly made me smile, but I decided against it. The anger on the prince’s face was evident and I didn’t understand why he was so adamant on not having a scratch on me but even so, I was thankful as I didn’t want to be hurt as the other sisters had been. Prince Hvitserk spoke again,

“You realise that this is harming her, yes?” the pagans nod, knowing they had gone against his orders and were ready to be punished, though the prince only came closer towards me and didn’t seem to pull an axe on his people like I thought he might - the thought of salvation crossed my mind, maybe this wasn’t going to be too bad… Prince Hvitserk pulled out a knife and cut through the rope which was tied around my hands, he pulled me to my feet and led me over the terrain with ease holding onto me to make sure I didn’t fall. Once we arrived at the camp I saw the vastness of it, there were more pagans here then the group that raided the monastery and it was obvious they didn’t just come to find treasures and women. The camp was alerted to the groups return and the king and other Princes were at the front of the gathered people,

“Your search was successful brother!” the prince who sat on the ground stated, his piercing blue eyes felt like they were staring straight into my soul,

“It was indeed, we found a building with only women inside, they claim to be women of their god.” it was then that I realised I hadn’t prayed to god once since we left the monastery even after hearing the prayers being mumbled out by the sisters, that fact alone was curious… was I really forgetting about god, wasn’t that a sin in itself to go against the rule of the almighty? But I couldn’t bring myself to care. It’s not like I was the holiest person in England, and I for one enjoyed learning about others and their religions even if it is not the one I would choose for myself.

“As we can see, Hvitserk, why is the one in your arms separate to the others?” another of the Princes asked, Hvitserk looked down at me before answering his brother,

“This one seems different from the rest, she didn’t cower away when we killed some of the women, nor was she praying like the others on our way here.” the Princes nodded, while the king stared at me, it was evident that the prince who sat on the floor was this man’s son, they shared the same blue eyes that seemed to look through me. Hvitserk pulled me closer to the men, stopping just in front of them,

“Are you sure that’s the whole reason, Hvitserk?” the king spoke, a teasing lilt on his tongue. The prince just laughed and pulled me towards the area that the other sisters were put and began to speak,

“You’ll stay here until we leave.” he said it in a way that you would talk to a pet, though I couldn’t blame him. I was a foreigner who in his eyes didn’t speak his language so the surprise on his face when I responded with a ‘Ja’ was quite the sight. The rest of the day was rather cold and the sisters’ constant muttering of prayers was getting on my nerves that by the time it was nightfall I was ready to kill them myself. Though I was saved by a figure walking up to me and pulling me to my feet, Hvitserks face had a smile on it showing in the light of the moon, the prince turned away from me and pulled me along with him until we reached the shore. He motioned for me to sit down as he got onto the floor himself, we sat there for a while in silence just looking out to the sea. I could only guess the thoughts running through his mind, ones of his home and perhaps a lover that he had to leave behind, I knew mine were rather loud, hoping I wouldn’t be hurt or killed in the near future. After a while, the prince spoke up,

“Now I know you understand me. I thought we could talk.” I nodded for him to continue,

“Well, I guess the first thing I should do is introduce myself. I’m Hvitserk, Prince of Kattegat, Denmark. What’s your name?” he spoke softly, he had a small smile on his face as well which calmed the nerves I was feeling,

“I have a name but at this point, I probably wouldn’t answer to it, the sisters had a nickname for me which they used all of the time - Trouble.” Hvitserk watched me ramble on, his smile widened at my words,

“Why’s that your nickname?”

“They said it was because they always needed extra hands to take care of me, I was quite a rebellious kid.” he nodded at my words before asking,

“Why don’t you change it then?” I laughed slightly at his words,

“If only it were that easy, the sisters gave me my name - it was a name of god so I could only change it if an elder gave me a blessing, the nickname was something that identified me within the few other sisters who held the same name. If I wanted to change it I would have had to change my whole personality and that was hardly something that happens quickly.” Hvitserk nodded in understanding,

“You could change it now, technically you are no longer the possession of your god, and us pagans do not care for that kind of rule. What would you want to be called?” I sat and thought about his words for a moment but came up with nothing,

“I do not know.” 

“I think Astrid would suit you.” he voices, 

“What does it mean?” this question causes him to look away with a blush evident on his face,

“Divine beauty.” the words make heat rush into my cheeks,

“Well I guess from now on I’ll be called Astrid.” Hvitserk’s smile returned to his face, 

“Well Astrid, when we return to Kattegat you’ll be seen by the queen and she will be the one to tell you where you are to be put.” I let his words sink in, knowing that after we arrive in Kattegat we probably won’t see each other again, and for some reason that saddened me. We were once again left in silence.


	3. Sea Sickness...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading... I hope you enjoy! :)

The trip to Kattegat was a long one, the constant rocking of the boat was sickening and I remembered exactly why I hated trips like these so much as I leant over the side of the boat and brought up the little food I had in my stomach - granted that amount of food was definitely more than the other sisters had gotten, there was no doubt that it was Hvitserk’s doing. Reaching the shore of Kattegat relaxed me slightly, though I was still unsure of the job I was to be given. I knew as long as it didn’t involve the sea I would be happy to do it. The land of Kattegat was full of vibrant colours, it was obvious they had been to a lot of places and brought back things to decorate their town and I hoped I’d get to see more of it someday. I was led separately to the sisters who were taken to a nearby barn, the direction we were going in looked to be the main building of the town. The inside was filled with tables and chairs as well as two thrones. Where the King and, who I presumed to be, the Queen were sat; they were looking at me in curiosity; across the room sat the Princes, Hvitserk had already begun eating which over the past few days I had come to realise was a large trait of his… the Princes looked happy to be home and I could help but smile at them laughing away about something, though I was quickly called upon by the voice of the King,

“Hvitserk told me you can speak our language, where did you learn?” a look of curiosity sparkled in the King’s eyes,

“I have travelled as many Christians do. Spreading awareness and doing charitable work is what we do as Nun’s.”

“Nun’s?” it was a single worded question but I knew he was only curious so I took no offence in it,

“Women of the Christian god, we swear to chastity and do good work in favour of the church.” the King nodded as he took in all of the new information, he opened his mouth as if to speak but a feminine voice replaced it,

“Why did you do that? Swear to chastity so young?” the Queen came across much more straightforward, but still her question held no malice only inquisitiveness,

“It was not my choice, my family wanted one of their children to join the church’s efforts and as the youngest they decided I would be their best bet. Once I was eighteen the sisters made me swear, they thought it would stop my curiosity and rebellious nature. Unfortunately, for them, it did not…” this caused them to chuckle,

“My son spoke about how you didn’t even flinch when your elders were killed, why?”

“I do not know. I have to admit the day you came upon the shore I watched you set up your camp, I was in awe of your quick work and when I returned to the monastery I warned the sisters that you were there, but without a plan they only brought us into the basement. We were in there for two nights and I began to detest the sound of prayers being muttered and the constant hushing from the elders, so I guess when your warriors put their axes into them it was a relief.” the reply must have shocked them as neither said a word, the King could only nod. I looked around at the Princes who seemed to have also been listening; they looked just as shocked.

“You have been brought here to work, you’re aware of this, yes?” the queen finally spoke, I nodded in reply,

“I think you will fare well looking after my sons, though they can be a handful I have a feeling you will be able to bear them and their antics, what do you think?” the Princes chuckled behind me, her words made me both happy and wary - I knew they would definitely be trouble but I also knew that if I was around them I would most definitely have fun.

“I think you know what’s best for your sons.” This pleased the queen, and for the rest of the day she had her thralls sort me out some clothes and a place to sleep, the thralls had spoken of the Dane royals and said that they must favour me as I had not been put into the barns like them; this confused me slightly but I wasn’t complaining. 

The next day I was put to work, the Princes needed waking up and Ivar would need help with getting into his day clothes. The task of waking was a difficult one, Ubbe complained the whole time, Sigurd only woke up when I bribed him, Hvitserk very nearly pulled me in bed beside him until I told him he wouldn’t be allowed any food for the morning, and Ivar was grumpy (though I very quickly realised he was more embarrassed then angry). The task of dressing Ivar was longer, his mini tantrum was meant to be off-putting but he swiftly put an end to it when he found it was doing nothing. Instead he opted to mumble while allowing me to pull clothes onto his legs. When evening came it was my job to notify the Princes that it was time to eat - Ubbe, Sigurd and Ivar were easy to find and were in the places I was told they would probably be, Hvitserk was the difficult one, I looked around for him for about an hour until I stumbled upon him. The sight was one I’d never seen before and made me blush with intensity, there in front of me was Hvitserk whose face was buried deep within a blonde’s womanhood. I didn’t know what to do and felt guilty for how long I watched them, soon though I spoke,

“Prince Hvitserk, once you’ve finished what you’re doing it is time for dinner.” I prayed that the heat of my cheeks wasn’t evident in the low light of the evening. I saw Hvitserk stand up and wipe his mouth, kissing the blonde quickly before walking towards me, I briskly turned and started to walk towards the longhouse ready to help serve the evening meal. The next few days were almost identical, and my job wasn’t as strenuous as I had originally gathered, the Princes were easy to work for and even Ivar had begun to warm up to me and my help. I was just glad I had an out from the monastery and that I could do more than look after the church and do charitable work, I get almost at home in this foreign land… I was almost content.


	4. Rumours

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> (I just wanted to say that there is a comment about bedding a lot of men and the character is talking badly about it, this is only due to her nature and not a thought of my own)  
> Thank you for reading... I hope you enjoy! :)

I had been working in Kattegat for two months now, it had been both hard work and fun like I had thought it would be. I had gotten closer to the Princes over this time as well, they ended up insisting I learn how to fight with a shield and sword so if I ever needed to protect myself while they were away I could. I wasn’t the best but I quickly learnt where to hit the boys and win, this went on for weeks and often drew a crowd - they were probably curious as to why a thrall was being trained by the Princes - even the King and Queen would come and watch sometimes. 

Ragnar was still as curious as ever, I had been told of his Christian friend from England - by the Princes, mainly Bjorn who had known Athelstan the most due to being thirteen when the monk was brought to Kattegat by Ragnar - and how he loved him even though he was not a part of their faith. This interested me greatly and I became more curious about the King, the idea that a Pagan could allow such things to happen was a crazy thought, as most of them hated the idea that there were any other faiths believing their gods to be the true gods (like every other faith I suppose). He had questioned me further on the religion, and pointed out how most of what I was when growing up had changed while being in Kattegat, though I had to admit that he was mostly right the fact that I had always been a curious soul who never truly believed in the faith my peers did meant I wasn’t really ever strict to the faith, I wasn’t an atheist like some who were shunned by the church but I wasn’t tethered to a specific faith… and I had to admit at the time that scared me...

It was one of those days where the boys decided they would practise defence with me,

“Come on you can hit harder than that!” Ubbe egged me on,

“I’m hitting as hard as I can currently Ubbe!” The boys laughed at me, Ubbe brought his wooden sword down to hit me but I managed to block it just in time pushing him backwards in the process and putting my sword just above where his heart would be. The other Princes started whooping and clapping at my achievement while Ubbe put up his hands but I didn’t let my eyes leave him - the first rule that had taught me was don’t turn your back to you enemy even if they had admitted defeat - I slowly put down my sword and shield before taking a step backwards. Ubbe must have thought I was relaxing as he brought his sword towards me only for me to hit mine against his wrist so he would drop it and then I place mine against his throat and said,

“You’re definitely dead now…” the look of shock on Ubbe’s face also translated to the crowd around us. Hvitserk stood up and ran over to me quickly picking me up and spinning me around with a cheer, the sight must have been a strange one but most of the citizens of Kattegat had come to understand my role here and most of them respected that, though some were not so nice. Margarethe had called me many names, she was like the queen of the thralls and everyone adhered to her ruling, she had shared a bed with a lot of men - especially the Princes - I myself did not understand the appeal of having a women who has had a lot of other men's cocks in but maybe that’s just a thought from my upbringing. However, Hvitserk has seemed to stop seeing her and this is something she is not too happy with, I know this first hand from the backhanded comments and the rumours that had been spread about me. Eventually these rumours had reached the ears of royals, I knew that they wouldn’t like it but I didn’t expect them to react in this way. First they had brought most of the thralls into the hall, Margrethe was at the front of the hall - placed there by the Princes - she had a smug look on her face as she looked round to me as if to say ‘look where I am’ though that look was quickly wiped off of her face when the boys explained why they were all here, Hvitserk must have noticed the worried look on her face as he stepped forward to ask,

“Who was the one to start these rumours?” his tone of voice was demanding, one that told you he already knew the answer, Ubbe decided to reinforce this picking up on where Hvitserk was looking,

“If you tell us now you won’t be publicly embarrassed later on, this must have hit Margrethe hard as she looked down to the floor and put her hand up. The boys looked at each other with knowing looks,

“Okay, everyone else can leave but know that spreading rumours about people close to us is in bad faith and you will be punished accordingly.” the thralls almost ran out of the doors to get back to their work. The looks on each Prince's face was different; Ivar had on his normal scowl, Sigurd looked bored, Bjorn and Ubbe were angry, but Hvitserk looked absolutely pissed off - which was quite out of character for the normally happy go lucky Prince. Ubbe was the first one to break the silence,

“Margrethe what is your goal with this?” the girl looked quite embarrassed to be standing where she was, she stayed silent seemingly deciding on a better answer then the truth.

“If you tell us anything but the truth, Margrethe, then you are not going to be getting off lightly!” Hvitserk had not once raised his voice like this around me, it made me feel something I had not felt before something I didn’t understand…

Margrethe ended up admitting that she was jealous of their focus on me and that she decided that if they were to hear these lies and believe them they would have gotten rid of me. Ivar, Sigurd, Bjorn, and Ubbe seemed to understand her point of view and Ubbe suggested that the punishment be less severe - something I internally agreed with, not wanting anything bad to happen to anyone - but Hvitserk seemed to have another idea but didn’t voice it. They let Margerthe go and continue her work stating that they will tell her what she is to do in the morning. Hvitserk stormed out of the hall a little while later causing me to worry so I got up to follow him, an angry Hvitserk is never a good thing, I saw the rest of the brothers look at me leaving but they must’ve thought better than to question my actions.

Finding Hvitserk was tricky, if the man wanted to hide he would and there was no finding him, though over the past few months I had figured he could be in certain places; today I found him on the little private area of the beach. Sitting down next to him I stayed silent, he didn’t look at me but he knew I was there, the situation reminded me of when we first met and my new name was decided. To my surprise it wasn’t long until he began to speak,

“You know I saw you agreeing with my brothers, Margrethe spread rumours and said some pretty horrible things about you and you don’t want to see her punished hardly?” the way he spoke was out of frustration,

“Margrethe had no right to do what she did, I understand that, what I don’t understand is why you’re so pissed off about it. I’m also a thrall, I have no influence here! Why would it matter that people spoke untrue things about me?”

“Because you’re more than just the thrall that looks after us!” Hvitserk stood up before continuing, “ Is that really what you think? That you’re no more than a thrall. If you were we wouldn’t be so adamant about showing you how to defend yourself! We wouldn’t have brought all of the thralls into the hall and we most definitely wouldn’t be punishing Margrethe!” the statements made me dizzy,

“Hvitserk, even if that is the case why are you so terribly upset about this? Your brothers aren’t.” he looked straight into my eyes, worry filled them but he must’ve decided that his answer was important enough to overcome this worry,

“I think I’ve fallen in love with you.” the breathe left my lungs, I had no words to say - how do you react to a Prince telling you they love you - the words that came out of my mouth didn’t feel like my own,

“Hvitserk, you have given me a lot more than I ever expected, but one thing I cannot accept is your heart - you’re a Prince! I’m a thrall, no matter what you say, I am a thrall, I was brought here to be a thrall, and that’s what I’m going to be till I die. Whether we want it or not. There’s no way your parents will accept this and I’m sure your mother has already seen who you have been fated to be with for the rest of your life!” Hvitserk rushed forwards picking me up off of the floor, and holding me in his arms,

“I can’t allow you to say those things, they’re not true! I’m going to prove to you how important you are to all of us… to me.”


End file.
